Standing at the entrance of the Affairs Department was a figure who should never have appeared there.
The president of the Paranormal Association.
Their ultimate boss.
Yalan.
And the name he had just called was—
“Lu Yi.”
The bootlickers instantly froze in confusion.
A commoner like Lu Yi actually knew President Yalan?!
But she was only a commoner… She had entered the Paranormal Association through an exception made for her grades, so how could she possibly have any connection with nobles?
Yet at this moment, everyone lowered their heads, not daring to offend either side.
“President Yalan, you arrived at the perfect time.”
Tao Zhi showed not the slightest guilt. Instead, she proudly walked up to Yalan and pointed at Lu Yi.
“Look at this arrogant intern. Not only was she careless enough to ruin all the important documents, she’s also shouting that she refuses to handle them!”
“What happened?”
Ignoring Tao Zhi entirely, Yalan walked straight toward Lu Yi. His tall figure almost completely blocked everyone else’s view.
Lu Yi did not raise her head, nor did she speak.
Meanwhile, Tao Zhi hurried after him and continued rambling.
“As you can see, this intern ruined everything. These are critical documents needed by the Operations Department tomorrow! If they can’t be completed, the department won’t be able to function properly!”
“I saw.”
Yalan interrupted her coldly before she could continue.
“Can you all finish reprocessing them before tomorrow?”
His sharp gaze swept across half the office before finally settling on Tao Zhi.
“President Yalan.”
Pretending helplessness, she sighed dramatically.
“These are the results of everyone working overtime for several days. Reprocessing everything by tomorrow is impossible…”
“And the rest of you?”
Yalan looked toward the other employees exchanging glances.
Seeing his reaction, Lu Yi felt her heart sink into icy depths.
The surrounding coworkers exchanged signals before quickly reaching a unified conclusion—
President Yalan must also be on Tao Zhi’s side. Besides, if everyone blamed Lu Yi together, nothing would happen to them.
“Uh… President Yalan, we can’t do it either.”
“Yeah, there’s no way this amount of work can be redone overnight.”
More people joined in agreement.
Hearing them, Yalan let out a cold laugh.
“I see…”
His gaze landed on Lu Yi.
The girl looked utterly defeated.
“Everyone. Pack your things immediately.”
“…Pack our things?”
Everyone froze.
Tao Zhi instantly sensed something wrong and was just about to speak when Yalan decisively declared:
“You’re all fired.”
“President Yalan!”
“Why?! She’s just a filthy commoner!” Tao Zhi’s eyes filled with disbelief. “President Yalan! Aren’t you abusing your power?!”
“Oh? Abusing my power?”
Mockery appeared in Yalan’s voice.
“You’re right. This is abuse of power.”
“Except…”
“This time, the ones being bullied are you.”
Tao Zhi’s expression had never looked uglier.
As a member of the noble class…
Yalan was actually treating her like this!
“President Yalan, my father—”
“Bernite.”
Yalan raised a hand to cut her off before speaking directly into his optical brain communicator.
“You’ve been promoted. Starting now, you are the new Operations Department Minister.”
“…Huh?”
Bernite’s side sounded chaotic, as though he was busy handling something. Faced with such a sudden promotion, he clearly had not reacted yet.
“And inform Tao Fei that he’s fired.”
Bernite immediately nodded.
“Ah—okay! Then… then your secretary position?”
“Focus on your own work.”
“…Yes, sir!”
Bernite excitedly ended the call.
Lu Yi had heard everything clearly. Confused, she slowly raised her head—
And met Yalan’s cold gray eyes directly.
All the coworkers who had bullied Lu Yi stood frozen in place, not daring to move even a step.
Without looking away, Yalan spoke in a voice powerful enough to suppress everyone.
“Get out.”
Soon, hurried footsteps echoed through the office, followed by a chain of departing sounds.
Tao Zhi viciously glared at Lu Yi before leaving behind a final threat.
“My family won’t let you off.”
The Affairs Department became quiet once more.
Using the back of her hand, Lu Yi wiped away the tears on her face before bowing toward Yalan.
“Thank you, President Yalan.”
After speaking, she also prepared to gather her things and leave.
“Lu Yi.”
Yalan still did not withdraw his gaze. His tone unconsciously softened slightly.
“Pack your belongings and come with me.”
Hearing this, Lu Yi froze briefly. After placing the final pen into her canvas bag, she silently followed behind Yalan.
The entire way, she kept her head lowered, imagining countless possibilities in her mind until they finally stopped outside Yalan’s office.
Standing before her, Yalan stopped and pointed toward the desk nearby.
“From today onward, you’ll work here.”
“…Me?”
There was no excitement in Lu Yi’s voice.
Only shock.
And hesitation.
Yalan turned around and saw nothing but unease inside the girl’s black eyes.
Her voice lacked confidence.
“I… I already submitted my resignation.”
As soon as she finished speaking, her optical brain received a file from the Paranormal Association.
Opening it, she discovered an official employment contract.
“This is—”
“Starting now, you are my secretary.”
After speaking, Yalan pushed open the office door and walked inside.
Lu Yi’s eyes widened slightly as she stared at the numbers on the contract.
Mr. Bernite’s salary…
Was nearly four times her current income.
With this salary, her savings plan would progress as fast as a shuttlecraft.
Blinking slowly, Lu Yi looked toward the half-open office door before very spinelessly sitting down at the secretary’s desk.
And her emotions became unbelievably complicated.
However, before she could even warm the seat, the call bell on the desk rang.
Yalan’s deep voice sounded through it.
“Come in.”
Lu Yi pushed the door open and nervously looked toward the man seated in the boss’s chair.
The last time she entered this room, she had been interrogated by him…
“Take this document to the Operations Department.”
Without even raising his head, he pointed toward the sealed file on the desk.
“Yes, President.”
Holding the file carefully with both hands, Lu Yi left the office. She did not overthink the situation and immediately threw herself into her new work.
Only after her small figure disappeared beyond the doorway did Yalan finally raise his head, thoughtfully staring at the half-open crack in the door.
He could not detect anything unusual about Lu Yi at all.
With such a personality…
It was impossible to imagine her killing someone.
And yet—
Yalan looked toward the surveillance footage displayed on the screen.
Inside it was a petite girl wrapped tightly in her coat, exhaustion covering her face as she left the Paranormal Association.
The timestamp read:
10:05 PM.
Lu Yi had lied to him.